Updates on MJM News

April 15, 2014
A 230 year old mystery has been solved thanks to the keen eyes of a staff member at the Morris-Jumel Mansion Museum. On Sunday, January 26th, 2014, in a packed room at Keno Auctions, a document discovered by MJM archivist Emilie Gruchow sold for $730,000 ($912,500 with buyer’s commission) from a private collector who intends to lend the manuscript to public institutions. Until it was discovered by Ms. Gruchow, the document was known only from its final printed version, done in Philadelphia in the summer of 1775. Read more.

December 6, 2012
MJM’s Education Director, Carol Ward, was observed during one of her school tours. The tour was featured in The Uptown Chronicle’s “Places” section, in an article entitled, “Where Washington Walked” on Thursday, December 6, 2012.To see the story, click here.

March 22, 2012
The MJM exhibit of photographer Mike Fitelson’s photo exhibit titled, “Northern Manhattan as Muse” was featured in the New York Daily News, Uptown News section on Thursday, March 22, 2012.

January 27, 2012
Eyewitness News First At 4:00 P.M
7 Blocks: Washington Heights
Friday, January 27, 2012
Morris-Jumel Mansion was featured in a “7 Blocks” feature by reporter Dave Navarro that highlighted institutions and cultural attractions located near the 168th Street subway station.To see the story, click here.

July 28, 2011
SundayArts Primetime Special
WNET/Channel 13
Morris-Jumel Mansion was featured as part of a special weekday, primetime airing of the highly regarded arts and culture program. Director of Education and Programming Carol Ward takes viewers on a tour of the historic Washington Heights landmark. To see the story, click here.

May 31, 2011
New York 1 News
Manhattan’s Oldest Home Has Presidential Roots

A historical mansion in Washington Heights holds the distinction of playing host to the nation’s first president.

The Morris-Jumel Mansion — the oldest house in Manhattan — was built in 1765 by British Colonel Roger Morris and his American wife and later purchased by the Jumel family in 1810.

“In addition to having a house that reflects a time period back to the colonial days, we think we also try and represent what has happened in America, and interpret what has happened in American over that more than 200 year period,” said Morris-Jumel Mansion Director of Public Affairs Rich Foster.

March 9, 2011
The Village Voice
Penguin Prison’s Sylvan Terrace Home: Like Boardwalk Empire without the whores

Manhattan’s oldest house is the Morris-Jumel Mansion, a Palladian hilltop manse that served as George Washington’s headquarters in the autumn of 1776. Overlooking the Harlem River, the Bronx, and the Long Island Sound, the home’s lofty perch made it an ideal strategic base against the British. So as a city museum since 1903, it has become sort of a historical dead zone that draws Revolutionary War hounds and camera-carrying rubberneckers from half a world away. And when Chris Glover, a 29-year-old who lives on an adjacent block, knocks on the locked front door after visiting hours, the first thing the motherly attendant wants to know, before she decides whether or not to send him away is, Where are you coming from?
Read Full Story. Original article can be found at:http://www.villagevoice.com/2011-03-09/news/penguin-prison-sylvan-terrace-chris-glover/#

October 11, 2010
The New Yorker
Brandi Carlile and Band Hit New York

Over the course of the past four years, during which Brandi Carlile and her band have been more or less constantly on the road, they have developed a lively interest in ghosts. This is partly because they tend to play old theatres and town halls in out-of-the-way places. These buildings often have local legends attached to them, which stagehands regale the band with during sound check. But it is also because the band has been trying to unravel the mystery of its live performances: what is it that makes a show good, and how can it be captured on a record?
Read Full Story. Original article can be found at:http://www.newyorker.com/talk/2010/10/11/101011ta_talk_seabrook?printable=true

The Morris-Jumel Mansion, Manhattan’s oldest house and George Washington’s headquarters during the Revolutionary War battle of Harlem Heights, has once again received accreditation from the American Association of Museums. Accreditation is the most prestigious designation awarded to a museum.

AAM accreditation brings national recognition to a museum for its commitment to excellence, accountability, high professional standards and continued institutional improvement.